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STATE BOARD OF 
ACCOUNTS 




REPORT OF 

SCHOOL HOUSE HEATING AND 

VENTILATING AND RULES 

ON PUBLIC BUILDING 

CONTRACTS 



GILBERT H. HENDREN 

State Examiner 

19 17 






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School House Heating and the Indiana 

Law 



A Report Submitted to Gilbert H. Hendren, State Examiner^ State 
Board of Accounts of Indiana, by G. B. Veal, School of MecKan" 
ical Engineering, Purdue University, and by the Department 
of Inspection and Supervision of Public Offices 

To the Governor 

GILBERT H. HENDREN, State Examiner 
BERT WINTERS, Deputy Examiner 
THOMAS H. KUHN, Deputy Examiner 

GEORGE M. GRANE, Legal Glerk 



y'v-*-* ^su**,*' 



fe*~AA- <*V«« i 



Members of the Board 

HON. JAMES R GOODRICH 

Governor 

HON. OTTO L. KLAUSS 

Auditor of State 

HON. GILBERT H. HENDREN 

State Examiner 



SGHOOL HOUSE HEATING AND VENTILATING AND 
RULES ON PUBLIG BUILDING GONTRAGTS 

Indiana Reformatory Print, 1917 






0. 0* '^' 

m 23 ^9^8 



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School House Heating and Ventilating in 

Indiana. 



A diversity of opinion has existed for several years 
with respect to the relative merits of the various systems of 
heating and the ventilation of public school buildings and their 
compliance with the sanitary school house law of Indiana. 
The controversy between manufacturers of heating and venti- 
lating systems and between contractors is renewed practically 
every time bids are received by township trustees and school 
boards and has frequently resulted in the elimination of mer- 
itorious systems, on the theory that such systems do not com- 
ply with the sanitary school house law. This practice re- 
stricts competition, fosters monopoly and, in many instances, 
results in contracts being awarded upon bids that are not the 
lowest submitted. It encourages collusion, conspiracy and 
extortion. Arguments made by manufacturers and contrac- 
tors often confuse officials who are not experienced in heating 
and ventilating, and contracts are frequently secured for in- 
ferior heating systems at exorbitant prices through gross 
misrepresentation. It would be difficult to estimate the loss 
sustained by the taxpayers of the state through this corrupt 
practice. 

The object of this department in making an investigation 
of this important matter was to find the system of heating 
and ventilating that will meet the requirements of the law, 
best conserve the public funds and encourage legitimate 
competition. It was our opinion that this question could be 
solved only by a searching investigation by expert heating 
and ventilating engineers who were in no way connected 
with the manufacture of heating and ventilating apparatus, 
or interested, directly or indirectly, in the heating business. 



We presented the proposition to Professor Gilbert A. 
Young, head of the school of mechanical engineering of Pur- 
due University, who referred the matter to Professor C. B. 
Veal, of the school of mechanical engineering of that institu- 
tion. Professor Veal's investigation and the tests of existing 
systems were on the basis of the provisions of the sanitary 
school house law of Indiana, namely: heating, ventilating, 
humidity, initial cost, durability, up-keep, safety, operating 
cost and cleanliness. During the investigation. Professor 
Veal consulted those in charge of the engineering depart- 
ment in some of the largest universities of the United States 
and gave due consideration to their suggestions. He spent 
many months in making various tests and in the compilation 
of his report, which is regarded as the most complete of its 
kind published in the United States. Its practical use by 
township, school and other public officials who have charge 
of the construction of public buildings, including the installa- 
tion of heating, ventilating and plumbing equipment, will ef- 
fect a large saving to the taxpayers of Indiana, estimated by 
expert engineers at more than one hundred thousand dollars 
annually. 

It is the desire of this department to encourage legiti- 
mate competition and to require that contractors comply with 
the provisions of the sanitary school house law, and with the 
rules and regulations of the State Board of Health as 
authorized by the Indiana statutes. 



5chool House Heating and Ventilating and 

the Indiana Law. 



I. Introduction. 

In this report no attempt will be made to formulate de- 
finite specifications and rules for procedure in school house 
heating and ventilating. Attention will rather be directed 
to an analysis of the existing situation leading to certain 
recommendations which, if approved, may form the basis for 
regulating measures. 

Any study of the present question logically divides itself 
into three considerations, the available methods, the law and 
the demand. Before a selection of heating methods can be 
made there must be a clear understanding of the principles 
of operation and relative adaptability of existing systems to 
school house heating. Under the second consideration, 
interpretion must be placed upon the provisions of the exist- 
ing law, and classification made of available systems in ac- 
cordance with their qualifications to compete under the law, 
i, e., *'What does the law specify?'' and "To what extent 
can the various systems qualify under the law?'* 

Under the third head two parallel questions should be 
considered: **What is demanded in the heating and ventila- 
tion of school houses?*' and ''Which systems will best satisfy 
these demands?" 

II. Existing Systems. 

A. Classification. 

1 . Heating Medium. 

Heating systems may be broadly classified, according to 
the heat carrying medium employed, as hot air, hot water 
and steam. 



2. Method of Circulation. 

On the basis of the method employed to secure circula- 
tion, further division can be made into two classes; those 
using natural or gravity circulation, and those using forced 
circulation. 

3. Position of Radiation. 

Hot water and steam systems are also familiarly classed 
as direct, indirect or direct-indirect, according to the position 
and manner of using radiators. 

a. Direct. 

In direct heating the heating surfaces are placed in the 
space to be heated (obviously, stoves as well as steam and 
hot water radiators would be in this class) , and no provision 
is made for ventilation, in the sense of admitting and heat- 
ing outside air. 

b. Indirect. 

In indirect heating systems the heating surfaces are lo- 
cated in the basement or in some portion of the building out- 
side the room to be heated, and air passing over these radiat- 
ing surfaces acts as a medium to carry the heat through suit- 
able ducts into the room. The air in such a system may re- 
ceive its heat directly from the heating surface of a furnace 
or from radiators which are in turn heated by circulation of 
hot water or steam, and may be re-circulated from the build- 
ing or admitted from outside. 

c. Direct-Indirect. 

Where the radiating surface is set within the room to 
be heated, as in the direct system, but arranged with ducts 
and openings in such a manner that air is drawn from the out- 
side, heated and diffused into the room, the system is known as 
direct-indirect. 

. B. Description and Qualifications of the 
Various Systems. 

1 . Stoves. 

The space occupied, attendance required, accompanying 

4 



dir<", and unsightly appearance of stoves are common argu- 
ments against their use in school rooms. The difficulty in 
securing equal diffusion of heat throughout the room, particu- 
larly along the floor or in the portion of a room exposed to 
heavy winds, and the serious objection, that in its plain, 
ordinary form it does not furnish ventilation, constitute al- 
most equally evident objections to its use. With the mod- 
ern equipment available the stove in its simplest form should 
not be tolerated in even the smallest one-room school build- 
ing. 

However, the market affords at a moderate price a num- 
ber of designs in jacketed stoves or heaters which, when prop- 
erly installed, comply with the essential intent of the present 
law. These ''heaters'^ are really hot air furnaces set in the 
room instead of in the basement. They provide for the ad- 
mission of outside air, either above or below the floor, re- 
lease the heated air at sufficient height for proper diffusion, 
and can be operated in connection with aspirating foul air 
vents. They represent a type of direct-indirect system and, 
in many respects, in ventilating will have the advantages and 
disadvantages common to steam radiators of this type. 
When of sufficient size and correct proportions to permit the 
required number of changes of air per hour and still main- 
tain satisfactory humidity and temperature without deliver- 
ing overheated air they can be regarded as meeting the de- 
mand for small one-story, one or two-room buildings without 
basement. 

2. Hot-Air Furnace Systems. 

a. Natural Gravity Circulation. 

The conventional hot-air furnace is little more than a 
specially designed stove surrounded by a casing and usually 
installed in the basement of the building to be heated. The 
air which serves as a heat carrying medium is taken either 
from the building itself or from the outside through ducts, 
and by means of the casing is made to pass directly over the 
heated surface of the stove or furnace. This air is expanded 
by heat and, being lighter than the surrounding atmosphere, 
rises through suitable flues to the various rooms to be heated. 

Although it may be regarded as the most common method 



of small residence heating today, as compared with other 
systems providing ventilation, its only advantage for school 
house heating lies in its low first cost. Its disadvantages 
are those common to the system, in residences or wherever 
installed, the principle of these lying in the fact that by this 
means it is very difficult to heat any portion of a building 
while that particular portion is directly exposed to a strong 
wind. Since the circulation of air is dependent entirely up- 
on the difference in weight of equal volumes of hot and cold 
air, which at best is extremely small, the feeble circulating 
force available is easily overcome, on a windy day, by hav- 
ing air driven into the room on the windy side through 
window cracks and other leaks, thus creating a greater force 
tending to drive the hot air back down the pipes and depriv- 
ing such rooms of heat supply at a time when it is most 
needed. Another serious objection to the hot-air furnace 
system is that the ducts are liable to become unsanitary 
through the collection of dust, and any cracks or leaks in the 
furnace permit the absorption or entrainment of noxious 
gases and soot by the incoming air, thus impairing, rather 
than improving, ventilation. Since the comparatively weak 
force impelling the air vertically is totally ineffective in a 
horizontal direction, it is evident that this sytems would not 
be suitable for large buildings, requiring long horizontal runs 
of pipe even though the loss of heat from the air could be 
effectually and economically prevented by insulation. For 
best service the furnace should be centrally located, and, 
with the inconvenience of its pipes, occupies more basement 
space than other systems. 

Such a system cannot be recommended for school house 
heating except for buildings with not more than four rooms, 
where economy in first cost is absolutely essential, and then 
only when the utmost precaution is taken in the design and 
construction so as to comply with the intent of the law and 
the requirements of uniform heat and good ventilation. 

b. Forced Circulation. 

In hot air systems with forced circulation, i. e. , a fan 
furnace system, a fan or blower is used for the purpose of 
forcing air past the heating surface of the furnace and on 
through hot air ducts into the rooms to be heated. 

6 



With increased initial, operating and maintenance costs this 
system will be subject to the same disadvantages as the 
gravity hot air furnace, except for positive circulation of 
the air to all parts of the building with less regard for the 
disturbing influence of outside winds. Although not an inher- 
ent fault of the system, the type of fan employed in its installa- 
tion has all too frequently been inefficient and wholly un- 
suited to the economical propulsion of air under the required 
conditions of pressure, thus further increasing the cost of 
operation. 

The impact under pressure of the cold air from out of 
doors against the frequently almost red hot fire-surfaces of the 
furnace is quite likely to develop cracks and leaks through 
strains produced by sudden cooling or unequal expansion of 
the metal, rendering this type of equipment more objection- 
able than a gravity plant by way of supplying coal gas 
and the products of combustion along with the supposedly 
* Afresh*' air. Evidently the fire hazard of such plants is very 
great and it is a matter of record that serious fires in public 
schools have so frequently been traced directly to furnace 
systems as to render the selection of such a system unwise 
from the standpoint of common safety. Furthermore, the 
temperature of the furnace is sometimes very high, and re- 
ducing the supply of air at any time tends to increase 
the furnace temperature, since the air supplies a cooling ef- 
fect. Such a reduction in the supply of outside air will natu- 
rally increase the outgoing temperature of that which is sup- 
plied, thus resulting in excessively high temperatures of air en- 
tering class rooms. Temperatures as high as 275 degrees Fahr. 
have been observed by one of the best authorities. Such a tem- 
perature is dangerous to the structure of the building and, fur- 
thermore, very materially increases the fire hazard. It is un- 
necessary to call attention to the probable withering dry- 
ness of this air, or its harmful, if not positively painful, ef- 
fect upon pupils subjected to its draught. With even nor- 
mal temperatures of operation for a fan-blast system it will 
be found extremely difficult to consistently comply with any 
proper requirement in humidity, unless elaborate and ex- 
pensive equipment be installed. 

It may thus be seen that hand regulation of temper- 
ature and humidity may prove exceedingly troublesome; 



any attempt to secure automatic temperature and humidity- 
control is sure to prove an expense incommensurate 
with type of plant, and probably equally unsuccess- 
ful, unless made the subject of continuous care by a 
highly paid expert. 

The erection of such a plant is particularly inadvisable 
where electric current is not available for driving the fan. 
Inasmuch as no steam is generated in the plant an internal 
combustion engine,— of a size and type expensive, noisy and 
uncertain in operation, —represents the only available motive 
power in such cases. The necessity of having gasoline fuel 
stored in or about the building constitutes, within itself, an 
added danger. 

Although it is possible to find individual instances where 
the cost of operation of a fan furnace system has been less 
than that of a similar steam system, the consensus of opin- 
ion, from such records as are available, is that steam or 
''fan-coil" systems are less expensive to run, while without 
exception a direct-indirect steam system can be operated 
more cheaply. Light weight and poor construction of parts 
of the usual fan-furnace system, together with the develop- 
ment of cracks through great unevenness of temperature, 
lead to numerous and expensive repairs, often bringing the 
cost of maintenance above that of any normal allowance for 
depreciation. Whatever may be the advantage of the fan- 
furnace system it has been the almost universal experience 
that where such equipment has been installed it has been 
removed and replaced by some sort of steam system within 
a period of ten years, because of unsatisfactory service. 

Although such systems may apparently comply with the 
letter of the law, it is not likely that their operation will fulfill 
the intent of any thorough -going sanitary or heating regula- 
tion. If this system is to be installed it should be with the 
best modern type of plate, or preferably multi-vane fan; 
it should have a furnace of ample and properly proportioned 
grate and heating surface for this particular work; and no 
contract should be let for such a system in any building with- 
out the approval of a competent and disinterested heating and 
ventilating engineer, and the health authorities. 

3. Hot Water Systems. 

While the low temperature of radiators, leading to great- 

8 



er transfer of heat through convection than through radia- 
tion, and consequently a more natural quality of heat, ap- 
pears to commend hot water heating for direct radiation in 
school rooms; on the other hand, its high first cost, even with 
gravity circulation, lack of positiveness in circulation without 
pumps, large radiating surface, particularly with indirect ar- 
rangement, slowness in "heating up" and liabihty to breakage 
in radiators through freezing make hot water unsuitable as a 
heating medium for school houses, under most circumstacnes. 
Without provision for ventilation in heating, it is quite 
possible in mild weather to run a hot water system with a 
very low fire, thus resulting in economy of operation, and 
securing a reduction in the coal bill which tends to offset the 
extra first cost of the installation; but during operation at 
full capacity the cost of fuel probably will be no less than 
for steam . This latter consideration will apply particularly 
with an indirect or direct-indirect system and there is little 
doubt but that the same money, if spent in installing a mod- 
ern vapor-vacuum steam equipment, would result in just as 
low total cost per season. 

4. 5team Systems. 

Heating by steam is made dependable and uniform in 
operation through positive circulation, without mechanical de- 
vices to force it, and in this respect is unquestionably 
superior to either hot air or hot water. When properly fitted 
and piped every radiator should be kept hot with- 
out trouble. The radiators and piping are smaller than for 
hot water and there is no danger of freezing even with in- 
direct or direct-indirect radiators. 

For heating small and medium sized buildings there have 
recently come into extensive use various so-called atmospheric 
and vapor systems. These are all of a patented character 
—and as such need not be minutely described here— designed 
to make use of the principle that water will vaporize, or turn 
into steam, at a lower temperature if under a partial vacuum. 
In this respect the vapor systems differ from the vacuum 
systems employed in large public and office buildings only in 
the method of producing, and the amount of vacuum carried. 
The conventional vacuum system employs a pump or other 
power driven apparatus to produce the vacuum. As it would 

9 



not be economical to install an elaborate, motor driven ap- 
paratus in a rural or small school building several sufficient, 
positive and less expensive methods of producing a partial 
vacuum are offered by various companies. As in the case of 
vapor and vacuum systems the distinction between atmos- 
pheric and vapor systems is more one of degree than of kind. 
As the name indicates the atmospheric systems operate at, 
or slightly below, the pressure of the atmosphere. 

In a flexible type of vapor system the degree of vacuum 
can be increased in mild weather, thus permitting practically 
as low fire as with a hot water system. By varying the 
amount of vacuum the temperature of the vapor or steam in 
the radiator can be graduated as with hot water, but with 
this decided advantage: during cold weather the steam can 
be put under pressure, oparating as a plain pressure system, 
thus requiring no larger pipes and radiators than a normal 
steam installation. Moreover, the expansion tank of the hot 
water system is eliminated; air valves are replaced by va- 
por or vacuum traps at the radiator outlets; and a return pipe 
to the vacuum-producing apparatus insures good circulation, 
and makes the process of ''heating up" even more rapid than 
with low pressure steam. At the same time it avoids the at- 
tention, leaks and unpleasant odors associated with most air 
valves. In some of these systems the radiators are equipped 
with special inlet valves designed to permit easy hand 
modulation or control of the amount of steam admitted to 
the radiator, according to demand, thus effecting economy 
in the use of steam and reducing the pressure in the return 
pipes. There is no danger of injury where a radiator is ex- 
posed to freezing, and, in general, it may be said that, to a 
remarkable degree, these systems secure the advantages of 
both hot water and low pressure steam without the disad- 
vantages of either. 

Such systems do, however, have disadvantages peculiar 
to themselves. Primer ily, objection to their use is based on 
liability of trouble arising from complications introduced in 
connection with the vacuum producing apparatus. Although 
more economical in design and equally efficient in operation, 
the prices of the patented specialties bring the first cost of 
a vapor system up nearly, if not equal, to that of hot water. 
However, one advantage obtains directly from these patent- 

10 



ed features, in that the companies controlling them insist on 
providing or approving plans and specifications where their 
materials are used, in order that they may safely and intel- 
ligently guarantee successful operation. This they do 
without additional charge; and their experience should go a 
great way toward insuring a properly designed heating sys- 
tem for a school house of small or medium size. 

For large buildings an approved form of power vacuum 
system is recommended. 

a. Direct System. 

While a direct radiating steam system overcomes most 
of the objections to a hot air furnace equipment, in common 
with any direct system for securing heat, it has little ad- 
vantage over the stove from a standpoint of ventilation 
since it affords no means within itself, of providing ventila- 
tion. With such a system the open window must be resorted 
to, and while some still express their convictions that the 
open window is the sole solution of the question of ventilation, 
the weight of opinion is clearly against such a practice. In 
not a single recent important investigation has the open 
window solution been proposed or supported. The logic of 
this present tendency must be apparent, since even the most 
rabid advocates of open window schools admit the need of 
at least a little heat in the rooms; and with open windows 
it is not alone a question of housing children in uniformly 
cold rooms, but one of subjecting them to variations of tem- 
perature that may be both sudden and extreme. This, in the 
opinion of those best qualified to judge, is a condition that 
will never be allowed to prevail for any length of time, due 
to the disastrous results which must follow such a course. 

If it is agreed that school rooms must be continuously 
heated, and without any regard to the uniformity of this 
heat, it appears that there is little excuse for installing direct 
radiation and placing dependence upon open windows for 
rentilation, since heating with admission of cold air through 
windows is most difficult to accomplish and requires 
considerably more radiating surface than is neces- 
sary with the direct-indirect or indirect systems with 
natural circulation. Neglecting altogether the increased 
cost of operation, it appears that the first cost of the extra 

11 



radiation would be more than that of bases, dampers and 
diffusers for a direct-indirect system. 

Of course, where windows exclusively are depended up- 
on for ventilation the cost of vent ducts is ehminated, but 
this cost need be very small indeed if ducts are built directly 
into a new building. The installation of a direct system of 
radiation can be justified, if at all, only on the ground of en- 
forced economy, and this is of doubtful accomplishment. 

b. Direct- Indirect 5vstem. 

The application of the direct-indirect system necessitates 
placing the radiators along an outside wall in order to secure 
the outside air supply which characterizes the system. No 
very definite rules have been developed regulating the size 
of opening and admission of air to the radiators and until 
recently most inlet devices were too small to admit sufficient 
air for ventilation of school rooms. 

The principal advantages are: comparatively low first 
cost; a series of separate sources of heat for each room; the 
air is not necessarily contaminated by admiission through the 
radiator and remains essentially as pure as its outside source; 
the system is not affected by winds to the same extent as 
the furnace system with gravity circulation, and for that 
reason is more efficient, more certain and more easily regu- 
lated than a furnace equipment. 

With an actual opening to the outside air, such as exists 
for each radiator with this system, it is evident that the 
amount of air flowing through the opening will be depend- 
ent not only upon the difference in pressure outside and in- 
side, created by the air inside being heated and therefore 
lighter, but also upon wind pressures. A strong wind blow- 
ing against the wall in which these openings are placed will 
cause more air to flow into the room, while a wind in the 
opposite direction will decrease the inflow and under excep- 
tional conditions may even cause a temporary reversal of 
flow, the heated air passing from the inside outward. This 
state of affairs can be regulated only by judicious use of hand 
control. 

Aside from the disturbance caused by wind which can 
be partially, if not wholly, remedied by regulation of damp- 
ers, the most serious difficulty with such a system arises 

12 



from the fact that in calm weather it is the heating effect of 
the radiator which causes air to flow into the room, the 
amount passing in depending upon the temperature of the 
radiator and increasing with that temperature. Suf- 
ficient radiating surface must be installed to heat the room 
in coldest weather, while still admitting sufficient air 
changes. Some claim that this cannot be done, but if it 
can, it means an extraordinary amount of radiation in mild 
weather, and in such weather, to prevent excessive room 
temperatures, use must be made of some ''modulating* Mn- 
let device on the radiator to reduce its temperature or part 
of the radiation must be shut off, either one of which will 
decrease the flow of air from outside, except under favor- 
able circumstances, and may result in too few air changes 
per hour. A well designed and properly installed ventilating 
cowl and aspirating foul air vent flue, by their activity in 
tending to produce a vacuum in the room, will go far toward 
correcting this trouble and by intelligent use of open win- 
dows, as a supplementary scheme, may result in most satis- 
factory ventilation in the mildest weather for which arti- 
ficial heat is required. 

The importance of the vent flues, in securing ventilation, 
readily will be seen when it is considered that air cannot con- 
tinuously be drawn into a room unless air is taken out. Heat- 
ing coils placed in a vertical duct heat the air, thus causing 
it to rise because of its lighter weight. As this heated air in 
rising passes directly to the roof, all the heat used in accel- 
erating circulation is lost so far as heating is concerned. 
This fact renders the aspirating coil a most inefficient scheme 
for moving air. Where electric current is available it should 
be much cheaper to lead all vent flues to a motor driven ex- 
haust fan, located just under the roof. 

In years past there has been some doubt as to the ability 
of this system to provide proper moisture for the air after 
being heated, but recently there has been developed a num- 
ber of *'moisteners" for attachment to the radiators or to the 
diff users which are now universally provided to effectually 
prevent draughts. 

The initial cost of the average direct-indirect steam sys- 
tem will probably be more than that of any of the systems pre- 
viously discussed, but for almost any class of school buildings 

13 



it should prove more satisfactory than any of them. Such 
systems are comparatively safe, economical and durable. 

c. Indirect 5ystem. 
( I .) Natural Air Circulation. 

This system operates on the same principle as the direct- 
indirect, and differs in construction only in that the radiators, 
which are of a special type developed for this use, are 
placed outside, usually beneath the room, and the cold air 
from outside is led through ducts to the radiating surface 
and then rises to the rooms through other flues or ducts. 
Perhaps its only important advantage over the direct-indirect 
is that the heated air can be admitted to the rooms at any 
desired height above the floor or from any wall or floor sur- 
face. The additional ducts required make the expense of 
installation considerably higher than that of the direct-indi- 
rect. 

(2.) Forced Circulation. 

Indirect heating systems with forced circulation are var- 
iously known as hot blast heating, plenum, fan blast, fan 
coil or mechanical warm air systems. These are but differ- 
ent names for what is essentially the same thing and in them 
all we find a blower or fan added to the usual complement of 
equipment in an indirect gravity system. Whatever ad- 
vantages may be ascribed to the systems previously de- 
scribed (the fan-furnace possibly excepted), all are deficient 
in supplying the positive ventilation assured where the blow- 
er is added. No system of natural circulation can give ab- 
solute assurance of adequate ventilation in an auditorium or 
in any room occupied by a large number of people. 

Many devices in the way of attachments and auxiliaries 
have been developed to perfect the results obtained with 
this system. These auxiliaries include air washers, humidi- 
fiers, cooling coils, and automatic thermostatic and humidity 
control equipment. Where proper air washers or purifiers 
are operated in connection with this system, it has been 
found possible to recirculate air from the building, rather 
than take it from outside, and still obtain perfectly satis- 
factory ventilation. The quality of this recirculated and 
washed air is superior to that often obtained from outside 

14 



where dust and dirt may abound in the source of supply, as 
in the case where the inlet is taken from a crowded city 
street. The practice of recirculation will frequently reduce 
the cost of coal from 30 to 50 per cent. , but where the source 
of supply is outside, the cost of fuel must necessarily be 
high. Electric power for driving the blower is desirable, but 
a low pressure steam engine operating from the system's 
own boiler may be employed. Wherever basement rooms 
are used as school rooms, some form of fan circulation is 
necessary, if ventilation is to be positively secured, and in 
such buildings, of medium or large size, it is recommended 
that a fan coil system be installed where the original cost 
and operating cost are not prohibitive. 

As sometimes designed, the use of automatic tempera- 
ture control devices makes closed windows a necessity since 
the opening of windows in one room and the attendent drop 
in temperature will produce overheating in another room, 
and while a real source of trouble in some buildings, it is 
evidence of a defect in design rather than in principle. The 
regulation of humidity, where humidifiers are used, is a mat- 
ter which must receive almost continuous intelligent atten- 
tion. Thermostats likewise require frequent expert atten- 
tion, if they are to be kept in working order. 

A modern blower type air heating and ventilating plant 
is composed of a number of highly developed mechanical de- 
vices, producing a complicated assembly, the various 
units of which are certain to break down unless given the 
most intelligent supervision. Many of the complaints con- 
cerning automatic or semi-automatic plenum systems, no 
doubt, must be ascribed to mechanical defects, sometimes of 
design or installation, but more often of operation and up- 
keep. These latter require more expert and constant super- 
vision than is usually provided, with the inevitable result 
that the system breaks down sooner or later, developing 
many distinctly objectionable features. 

Thus, the real source of trouble with the forced circula- 
tion system of heating and ventilation arises through ignor- 
ance and lack of instruction of caretakers and teachers. 
With co-operation between teachers and plant operators, and 
intelligent supervision, this system must eventually prove 
superior to all others, but its installation is useless, and can- 

15 



not be recommended, unless the school authorities are will- 
ing to pay a price for attendance commensurate with the 
high quality and first cost of equipment and th-e excellent 
results attending its skillful operation. 

(3.) Combination or Split System. 

The forced ventilating and heating system is sometimes 
varied by heating the rooms with direct radiation and sup- 
plying ventilating air at room temperature with a fan and 
tempering coils. This arrangement results in fuel economy 
to the extent that only the air furnished for ventilation need 
be heated. At times, when no ventilation is necessary, the 
fans and fan-coils may be shut down. Such a system will 
prove more expensive to install but is very generally regard- 
ed as an improvement ov^r the full plenum system. 

III. The Law. 

In analyzing the provisions of law, those provisions 
which, by their own specific statement, apply to but one 
type of heating, and those which unquestionably can be met 
by every form of heating, are omitted as having no bearing 
on the present questions. Neither is any attention given to 
those regulations which apply only to systems for use in old 
or temporary buildings. 

A. Provisions of the Law. 
1 . Statute Law. 

a. Fresh air shall be taken from outside the 
building. 

b. Fresh air taken from outside shall be prop- 
erly diffused without draughts through 
each school room during school session. 

c. Each school room shall be supplied with, 
foul air flues. 

d. Foul air flues supplied shall be of ample 
size to withdraw the foul air from each 
room at a minimum rate of 1800 cubic 
feet per hour for each 225 cubic feet of 
said school room space, regardless of out- 
side atmospheric conditions. 

16 



e. Heaters of all kinds shall be capable of 
maintaining a temperature of 70 degrees 
Fahr. in all school rooms, halls, office 
rooms, laboratories and manual training 
rooms in all kinds of weather. 

f. Heaters of all kinds shall be capable of 
maintaining a relative humidity of not 
less than 40 per cent. 

B. Comparative Compliance With the Law. 

In the following table, showing the relative capability of 
the various systems to meet the requirements, the numbers 
in the first column of the table refer to the provisions of the 
law given above under the same number. The indications 
of the letters are as follows: 

A. Full compliance. 

B. Fair compliance. 

C. Poor compliance. 

D. Failure to comply. 

The analysis is purely arbitrary and is based on 
the performance to be expected, with reasonable care, in 
normal operation in all kinds of weather. 

NOTE: In systems where the fresh air taken from the 
outside serves the double purpose of ventilating and heat- 
carrying medium, the provision requiring proper diffusion 
without draughts is interpreted, in the following tabulation, 
to include distribution of heat in room. 

Relative Capability of System to Meet Requirements. 

Indirect Indirect 

Direct- System System 

Provi- Direct Indirect Natural Forced 

sions Systems Systems Circulation Circulation 





to 


O 
-t-> 


u 


s 






0) 

o 






0) 


<a 


0) 


2 


n] 


^ 


c3 




^ 


> 


''S 


"S 


''3 




^ 


g 


^ 


e3 


c3 


a> 


^ 


S 


03 


^ 


*o 


hJ 


m 


P5 


w 


« 


fe 


« 


(X4 


O 



1 CC BB BB AA 

2 DD CB CB B-A 

3 AAAA AA AA 

4 C-fC-^AA AA AA 

5 AAAA AA AA 

6 CC-BB BB BA 

17 



The short-comings of the two direct systems are consid- 
ered so great as not to warrant their serious consideration. 
A study of the various columns will indicate an increasing 
qualification from left to right. The requirements empha- 
sized by the law are such as to permit a better showing by 
the direct-indirect heater and the furnaces than would actu- 
ally be found in practice. No requirements are made for 
many of the points of operation in which these devices are 
most faulty. In so far as the provision of the statutes are 
concerned the direct-indirect radiator system is just as satis- 
factory as the indirect radiator system with gravity circula- 
tion. The fan-furnace equipment complies only fairly with 
the second and sixth provisions of the law. 

IV. The Demand. 

A. Proven Requirements. 

Practical experience and experimental research in school 
house heating have reduced the logical requirements to four 
almost universal necessities; heat, ventilation, reasonable 
cost, and safety of buildings and occupants. 

Of these four, heat is given the position of first import- 
ance because a primal necessity. Perhaps reasonable cost 
should rank next, since the dictates of good business judg- 
ment and the compulsion of the law most frequently make 
the item of cost the determining factor in the selection of a 
heating and ventilating system, but because of the intimate 
relationship between heat and ventilation, in the demand and 
means of securing the same, ventilation will be considered 
before cost. That the equipment of school buildings should 
be safe is so apparent as to need no comment. 

L Heat. 

Heat is an established physical necessity. There is wide 
difference of opinion as to the actual requirements in venti- 
lation, or what special arrangement, if any, should be made 
to secure it, but no one doubts that some means of maintain- 
ing the body temperature is indispensable. However, in the 
supply of heat, capacity alone does not furnish all that is to 
be desired. Aside from the waste in heat energy, excessive 
temperature is the one factor in ventilation upon which all 
are agreed as being detrimental; and if this high temperature 

18 



66° 


to 67° 


F. 


64° 


to 68° 


F. 


62° 


to 68° 


F. 


55° 


to 65° 


F. 


65° 


to 70° 


F. 


60° 


to 70° 


F. 


60° 


to 68° 


F. 


55° 


to 68° 


F. 


60° 


to 70° 


F. 



is associated with a high relative humidity the result is es- 
pecially injurious. During the time that artificial heat is re- 
quired and throughout the hours of occupancy the tempera- 
ture should be uniform within each room and constantly 
maintained within the ranges of the following minimum re- 
quirement schedule, recommended by the American Society 
of Heating and Ventilating Engineers. 

Class, study, lecture and recitation rooms, 

Auditoriums and assembly rooms, 

General labratories, domestic science, 

and manual training rooms, 

Gymnasiums, 

Offices, reception rooms, teachers' rooms, and 

and retiring rooms, 

Corridors, 

Flay rooms, lunch rooms, locker rooms, 

wash rooms, dressing rooms and coat rooms, 

Toilet rooms, 

For rooms not named, and according to use, 

A sufficient number of large, accurate, easily read ther- 
mometers should be placed in each room to enable the teach- 
er at all times to determine the actual degree of uniformity 
in temperature throughout the room. 

Any source of heat which does not contaminate the air 
or conflict with the regulations of the Health, Fire, Building 
or Electrical Public Authorities should be permitted to sup- 
ply heat loss from the building through radiation, convec- 
tion, conduction or the processes of ventilation. 

Temperature regulation by hand, or automatic control, 
should be provided to act separately for each room and its 
operation should interfere in no way to decrease the volume 
of air required for ventilation. 

2. Ventilation. 

The correction of too low a room temperature is the prob- 
lem of heating, and without developing the reasoning, the 
conclusion is justifiable that the correction of conditions above 
this critical temperature is the primary problem of ventila- 
tion. On every hand there is a demand for * 'fresh air," and 
to a great extent in the professional, as well as the popular 

19 



mind, this has come to mean outdoor air, but the best author- 
ities agree that untreated ''outdoor air," especially under 
city conditions, is seldom fresh air or even clean air. Temp- 
erature and humidity have little to do with the common con- 
ception of fresh air, but at present there is almost a unani- 
mity of scientific opinion that these, and other physical con- 
ditions, and foreign bodies such as bacteria and dust par- 
ticles, rather than any chemical constituents of the atmos- 
phere, are of the most importance. As previously mentioned, 
the one principle of ventilation upon which experts are 
agreed is that high temperatures are destructive to health 
and mental vigor, and ''fresh air" may best be regarded as 
clean air in gentle, almost imperceptible motion, and to 
further assure maximum comfort and render this air best 
suited for breathing it must have proper humidity as well as 
proper temperature, cleanliness and movement. 

a. Temperature. 

As a requirement of ventilation, entirely aside from 
heating, there should be a temperature range limitation. 

b. Cleanliness. 

Fundamentally, the air supply for ventilation should be 
free from dust, bacteria and other contaminations. The eli- 
mination of dust from the air supply, by means of air filters 
or air washers, is always desirable and may be absolutely 
imperative under some conditions of especially unclean air 
supply. 

c. Movement. 

A proper movement of air in contact with the body to 
assist in its normal dissipation of heat and prevent stagna- 
tion can best be insured by a minimum allotment of floor 
and air space to each person and a quantitative minimum air 
supply requirement per occupant, provided also that thor- 
oughly uniform distribution be accomplished without drafts. 
Anemometer and carbon dioxide tests represent the best 
simple, practicable means available for determining the 
quantity and quality of air supply and its distribution. 
Where a gravity system of air circulation is installed, the 
proportioning of radiating surface and air ducts should be 

20 



such as to secure full compliance with the ventilating require- 
ments with a temperature difference of 40 degrees F. be- 
tween the outside air and that entering the room at a warm 
air inlet, with a room temperature of 70 degrees F. 

Special provision should be made for the ventilation of cel- 
lars, toilet rooms, locker rooms, and all special service rooms. 
Suction or exhaust ventilating devices should be provided in 
all laboratories or other rooms where gases, fumes and other 
impurities or injurious substances are liable to contaminate 
the air. 

d. Humidity. 

On calm, sultry days in summer, the disagreeable sensa- 
tions experienced are similar in quality, if not in degree, to 
those experienced in any poorly ventilated room. Air stag- 
nation forms an atmospheric covering about our bodies 
which affects their heat conditions, and that the discomfiture 
outdoors in summer is less is probably due to the fact that 
even the most stagnant, humid atmosphere out of doors is 
stirred by some slight breeze. However, it must be admitted 
that excessively humid air, especially if accompanied by high 
temperature is extremely uncomfortable, and for that reason, 
if no other, is to be avoided. On the other hand, a very dry 
atmosphere abstracts moisture from the body as well as from 
the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, throat, and air pas- 
sages of those occupying the room. To keep the body warm 
under these conditions of excessive dryness the air must be 
hotter than it otherwise should be, the skin becomes flushed 
and other symptoms of ill-ventilation are developed. 

The positive regulation of humidity is a most difficult 
undertaking under any conditions, but these difficulties can 
be greatly reduced, where an air washer is used, by the sim- 
ple expedient of partial recirculation. With such operation, 
since all air is not discharged from the building, moisture is 
retained, and a great rise in temperature not being required, 
the humidy will not undergo extreme variations and can be 
prevented from increasing materially by varying the supply 
of outside air. While many experimenters are prepared to 
defend the practice of complete recirculation, such a step is 
considered too novel and radical for adoption in school build- 

21 



ings, and recirculation is not insistently recommended even 
as an assistance in securing humidity control. 

Wherever possible the relative humidity should be con- 
trolled between the limits of 35 to 50 per cent. 

3. Cost. 

a. Initial and Maintenance Costs. 

Reasonable cost may be defined as an expenditure com- 
parable with the cost of other component parts of the build- 
ing and its equipment, and should be in proportion to the de- 
mands and financial ability of the school community. It is 
manifestly unreasonable and unwise to expect the school au- 
thorities in a given case to expend large sums of money in 
the installation of elaborate and complicated heating equip- 
ment for comparatively small and inexpensive buildings 
which, within themselves as ''school buildings/* meet every 
requirement of the community. 

Neither can the all too frequent present practice of in- 
stalling cheap and untrustworthy apparatus of inferior de- 
sign and workmanship, in an honest or alleged effort to com- 
ply with the letter of the law, be commended. Such a prac- 
tice not only leads to high operating expenses, frequent re- 
pair bills, interruption in service and generally unsatisfactory 
results, but through these and other factors, in ail probabili- 
ty, will effect actual harm and injury to school children in 
the very things which all regulating measures try to correct. 
The experience of others in the maintenance and repairs of 
any system should be sought before it is installed. 

While seldom of any great consequence, in rare cases, 
the amount of space occupied by heating equipment, which 
might well be used for other purposes, may be a determining 
factor in selecting a system and may well be included under 
initial and maintenance costs. 

b. Operating Cost. 
(I.) Fuel. 

Operating costs can be broadly classed as fuel, power and 
labor. Much will depend upon the design of the equipment 
but with equally well proportioned apparatus, and like tem- 

22 



perature conditions, the fuel cost will increase with the per- 
centage of outside air admitted for ventilating purposes. 
Other things being equal, the more direct the contact of the 
cold air with the heating surface and the higher its velocity, 
consistent with the prevention of drafts, the greater the fuel 
economy. Thus a direct-indirect system should require less 
fuel than will be required where reliance is placed entirely 
upon open windows, thereby partially, if not wholly, making 
up for the difference in first cost. In general, a forced air 
circulating system should prove more economical than other 
indirect methods, and although direct radiation without ven- 
tilation will cost the least possible amount for fuel, it is attend- 
ed with a probable increase in physicians' fees for the pupils. 

(2.) Power. 

Power, considered apart from fuel cost for heating, may 
be high or low in cost and easy or diflScult to obtain, accord- 
ing to location of school and type of system installed. Where 
electric current is available an electric motor, owing to its 
ease of operation, presents the best solution of the power 
problem, and simplifies the problem of janitor service. A low 
pressure steam engine in connection with a steam system 
represents the next best practice and should be resorted to 
if electric current is not to be had and a forced ventilation 
system is still desirable. The cost of operation with a steam 
engine is particularly low since the exhaust from the engine 
is available as a heating medium. This economy is, of course, 
not secured with a gasoline engine. In fact, little can be 
said in favor of the gasoline engine except its low first cost, 
and its disadvantages can best be explained by those who have 
attempted to use the method. 

While the installation of a power driven plant must nec- 
essarily call for a greater investment, it is not an uncommon 
experience to find that the saving in fuel for heating, over 
that of the open window method, is sufficient to largely 
counteract the interest and depreciation on higher first cost. 

(3.) Labor. 

Too much cannot be said in favor of employing care-tak- 
ers, janitors, engineers and firemen who are intelligent, skill- 

23 



f ul and competent in the performance of their duties. These 
men for all classes of school buildings should be selected on 
account of their special fitness for their positions, should be 
thoroughly instructed in their duties, and should be given 
pay commensurate with their responsibilities and ability. 
There can be no greater mistake than to permit the abuse of 
valuable public property through the employment of incom- 
petent and irresponsible caretakers, just because such per- 
sons may be had for low wages. Where complicated mechan- 
ical heating, ventilating and air conditioning apparatus is 
installed, with or without automatic thermostatic regulation, 
an engineer, sufficiently expert to operate and keep in repair 
these devices, should be employed. 

4. Safety. 

If competent caretakers for the equipment of school 
buildings should be provided as a proper precaution against 
loss by rapid deterioration, it will be recognized as of equal 
importance that every provision be made against loss by fire, 
or other cause, in the selection of heating equipment. Ad- 
mitting that the actual financial loss of purely physical pro- 
perty could be covered by insurance, the interruption to 
school service might be serious, and no one could offer any de- 
fense of a scheme which might jeopardize the lives of school 
children, even though it should show a lower cost, in dollars. 

B. Classification of Systems According to Type of 

Building. 

The following classification of buildings is entirely arbi- 
trary and may be questionable in detail, but, in general, the 
adaptability of the several systems is as indicated. In every 
case where more than one system is mentioned for a given 
type of building the systems are listed in the order of their 
fitness, the most desirable being placed first. 

1. Single-room building, no basement. 

(a) Direct-Indirect heater installed in room. 

2. Single-room building, with basement. 

(a) Direct-Indirect single pipe steam system. 

3. Two-room building, no basement. 

(a) Direct-Indirect heater installed in each room. 

24 



4. Two-room building, with small basement. 

(a) Direct-Indirect single pipe steam system. 

5. Three room building, with small basement. 

(a) Indirect, gravity air circulating, one pipe 
steam system. 

(b) Direct-Indirect, one pipe steam system. 

6. Four-room building, two floors, with small basement. 

(a) Direct-Indirect, vapor steam system. 

(b) Fan-furnace system (where electric power 
is available) . 

7. Four-room building, two floors, with basement 
rooms used for school purposes but not for class rooms. 

(a) Direct-Indirect, vapor steam system, on first 
and second floors; direct system in basement with aspirating 
vent flues and cowl ventilators. 

(b) Fan-furnace system (where electric power 
is available) . 

8. Six-room building, with basement rooms used for 
laboratory or other school purposes. 

(a) Fan-coil system (with electric power or low 
pressure steam engine). 

(b) Direct-Indirect, vapor system on flrst and 
second floors; direct system in basement with aspirating vent 
flues and cowl ventilators. 

(c) Fan-furnace system (where electric power is 

available) . 

9. Eight-room building, with basement school rooms. 

(a) Fan-coil system. Toilets ventilated by motor 
driven suction fan. 

(b) Direct-Indirect, vapor or vacuum system. 

(c) Fan-furnace system (where electric power 
is available), 

10. Moderately large buildings, with basement school 

rooms. 

(a) Heating by direct radiation, ventilation by 

fan-coil system, toilets ventilated by motor driven suction 
fan. Air conditioning apparatus. 

(b) Heating by direct radiation, ventilation by 
fan-coil system, toilets ventilated by motor driven suction 
fan. 

(c) Fan-coil system, toilets ventilated by motor 
driven suction fan. 

25 



11. Large buildings, with basement school rooms. 

(a. ) Heat by direct radiation, ventilation by fan- 
coil system, automatic temperature control, air conditioning 
apparatus, ventilation of toilets and service rooms by suction 
fans. 

(b. ) Heat by direct radiation, ventilation by fan- 
coil system, air conditioning apparatus, toilets ventilated by 
suction fans. 

(c.) Fan-coil system, air conditioning apparatus, 
toilets ventilated by suction fans. 

In all cases, for all floors when no specific provision is 
made above, it is understood that aspirating vent flues and 
ventilating cowls will be installed. 

Where not specifically provided for above, it is understood 
that special provision will be made to ventilate toilets, by 
some suction exhaust device. 

In so far as possible, wherever twenty or more people 
are kept continuously in one room for more than one hour, 
or 100 people for as much as one hour, it is recommended 
that forced ventilation be provided. Such installation can 
be made to adequately care for all auditoriums and large 
lecture or class rooms. 

V. Conclusions. 

1. While the law requires a heating capacity suffici- 
ent to maintain an indoor temperature of 70° F. in all kinds 
of weather, it does not specify any maximum temperature 
limits; and this condition exists in spite of the fact that the 
injurious effects of overheating constitute the only undebated 
issue regarding ventilation. 

2. No provision is made as to the point, or number of 
points, at which room temperature shall be observed during 
school hours. Thus, no specific plan is laid down for ascer- 
taining that the temperatures are proper and uniform 
throughout the room. 

3. It is compulsory that air be taken from outside, 
but no provision is made against the use of air containing 
excessive dust particles or other impurities. 

4. While carbon dioxide in the air in quantities likely 
to occur in a school room, cannot be considered injurious to 
health, its presence in occupied rooms is regarded as an 

26 



accurate measure of the air supply and distribution in such 
rooms. For this reason it is recommended by no less author- 
ity than the American Society of Heating and Ventilating 
Engineers that a carbon dioxide test of proper supply and 
distribution be applied; yet, no such provision is made by 
the law. 

5. While the excellent qualities of the fan-coil sys- 
tem are recognized, it is readily admitted that conditions are 
not such as to warrant its use in all cases. Many times its 
cost renders it entirely prohibitive. In such cases the direct- 
indirect system offers the best substitute, considering both 
cost and results, since this system yields results practically 

- equal to those obtained with the gravity indirect and, in gen- 
eral, possesses more commendable features than any other, 
excepting only the fan-coil system. 

6. Evidence is lacking to show that as a permanent 
equipment for school house heating and ventilating, a well 
designed and constructed system of a theoretically poorer 
type will render better satisfaction than a poorly constructed, 
cheap system of a theoretically better type. Furthermore, a 
mediocre type of apparatus, when given careful, intelligent 
attention, will yield more satisfactory results than can be 
attained with the finest system in the hands of an ignorant 
and inexperienced operator. 

7. Finally, selection of all equipment and attendants 
should be made with the idea of safeguarding the expendi- 
ture of public money and the loss of property, and, more es- 
pecially, the health and lives of school children. 

* * -x- 

We submitted Professor Veal's report to the professors 
of mechanical engineering of the universities of the states 
of Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, Nebraska and Minne- 
sota, also Purdue and Rose Polytechnic Institute, and received 
the following replies: 

''Lafayette, Ind., October 17, 1916. 

Mr. Gilbert H. Hendren, 
State Board of Accounts, 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Dear Sir:— 

I beg to ackowledge the receipt of a 
copy of Professor Veal's report to the State Board of 
Accounts accompanied by your explanatory letter of 

27 



October 13th. I wish to commend unquahfiedly the 
action of the Board of Accounts in taking up this 
subject. 

Any one who has had to do with pubHc business 
is soon made to realize the pressure brought to bear 
by those who wish to sell their apparatus or supplies 
regardless of their appropriateness or usefulness. 
Where public servants lack the technical information 
necessary to their guidance in meeting these ques- 
tions, it is absolutely necessary that the disinterested 
and impartial guidance of technical experts be 
brought in. 

This you have well accomplished in asking Pro- 
fessor Veal to investigate and report on the question 
of school house heating and ventilation. His report 
will be found a valuable guide to those concerned 
with school house construction. I trust that it may 
be found possible to carry out the finding of his re- 
port, being convinced that in so doing public funds 
will be conserved and the health and comfort of the 
school children ensured. 

Very truly yours, 
W. E. Stone, 

President. 

**Lafayette, Ind., October 10, 1916. 

Mr. G. H. Hendren, State Examiner, 
State Board of Accounts of Indiana, 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Dear Sir:— 

I have before me the report of Prof. 
C. B. Veal, professor of engineering design of heat- 
ing and ventilating of Purdue University, made to 
you at my suggestion. 

As head of the school of mechanical engineering 
and as an engineer conversant with the problems 
that have confronted you in the matter of regulation 
of heating and ventilating in the school buildings of 
Indiana, I unhesitatingly recommend this report to 
you for your earliest consideration. It has never 
been my privilege to read a more impartial and care- 
fully thought-out discussion of the heating and ven- 
tilating situation as applied to public buildings. It 
is technically accurate and trustworthy, and the 
statements contained therein are equally understand- 
able to the layman and to the engineer. The scope 
of the report is broad enough to cover all the ques- 
tions you have before you, and I heartily endorse the 

28 



same. It is a double pleasure, therefore, on my 
part to recommend to you this report as the work of 
one of my own highly esteemed heads in my own 
school with the hope that its value you will recognize 
the more the longer you study its contents. 

Yours respectfully, 

G. A. Young, 

Prof, and Head of the School 
of Mechanical Engineering 
of Purdue University. '* 

* 'Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 2, 1916. 
Mr. Gilbert H. Hendren, State Examiner, 
State Board of Accounts of Indiana, 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Dear Sin- 
Agreeable to your request we have care- 
fully read a copy of the report to you of Prof. C. B. 
Veal, of Purdue University, on School House Heat- 
ing and Ventilating Regulations in Indiana, togeth- 
er with the Indiana Law on the subject. 

We desire to commend the above report as being 
comprehensive, thorough, complete, and accurate in 
its statements of engineering facts and opinions and 
highly commendable for practical use by persons 
interested in the subject. 

* * * 

Respectfully submitted, 

Wm. T. Magruder, Prof. 
Mech. Eng. 

F. W. Marquis, Prof. 
Steam Eng., Ohio 
University.'' 

''Urbana, Illinois, Oct. 6, 1916. 
Mr. Gilbert H. Hendren, State Examiner, 
State Board of Accounts of Indiana, 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Dear Sir:— 

At your request the writer has read a 
report on 'School House Heating and Ventilation Reg- 
ulations in Indiana, ' prepared by Prof. C. B. Veal. 
This report is a very complete analysis of meth- 
ods of school house heating and ventilation, and its 
recommendations as to the best practice in this field 
of work are, in general, admirable. The writer ap- 
proves of Prof. Veal's attempt to specify what he 
considers the best or ideal system of heating and 

29 



ventilating each class of school buildings, but believes 
that somewhat more latitude should be permitted in 
the 'approved' systems for the smaller buildings. 
Due consideration must be given to the cost of instal- 
lation and operation of such systems in very small 
buildings, or the regulation requirements will prove 
practically prohibitive in many cases. 

* * 9 

Very truly yours, 
A. C. Willard, 
Assistant Professor, ^ 
Heating and Venti- 
lation, Illinois State 
University. ' ' 

"Lincoln, Nebraska, Sept. 5, 1916 

Mr. G. H. Hendren, State Examiner, 
State Board of Accounts, 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Dear Sir: — 

Prof. Veal's report is a logical and clean- 
cut analysis of the subject. 

* * * 

Very truly yours, 
J. D. Hoffman, Prof. Mech. 
Engineering and Practical 
Mechanics, University 
of Nebraska. ' ' 

''Ann Arbor, Mich., Sept. 12, 1916. 
Mr. G .H. Hendren, State Examiner, 

Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Dear Sir:— 

I have examined the report carefully and 
it meets with my approval. I feel that your com- 
mittee has done well in being fair to all the different 
types of heating systems that might be used for the 
purpose covered by this report. It has my unquali- 
fied approval. 

Yours, very truly, 
John R. Allen, Prof. Mech. 
Engin. , University of 
Michigan." 

"Minneapolis, Minn., Sept. 28, 1916. 
Mr. Gilbert H. Hendren, State Examiner, 

Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Dear Sir:— 

I have spent considerable time at var- 

30 



ious intervals in reading carefully the report on 
'School House Heating and Ventilation in Indiana', 
by Prof. C. B. Veal of the engineering department 
of Purdue University. The report is a distinct con- 
tribution to the subject of school house heating and 

ventilation. 

• » * 

Yours, very truly, 
S. A. Challman, Commissioner of 
School Buildings, University of 
Minnesota. ' * 

St. Paul, Minn., Oct. 9, 1916. 
G. H. Hendren, State Examiner, 
State Board of Accounts, 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Dear Sir:— 

1 have been thru the report of Prof. C. 
B. Veal covering school house heating and ventilat- 
ing regulations in your state. I find his classifica- 
tion to be clear and concise. I find his descriptions 
of the systems also beyond criticism. His comments 
as offered on the several systems are well worth the 

consideration of those in authority. 

* * « 

The conclusions as they appear in the report, 
nine in number, I can subscribe to with comment di- 
rected to number 8. This I will not criticise, but will 
make more emphatic my approval of the points con- 
tained in this article. As a whole, therefore, I place 
my approval upon the report. The comments which 
I have named are made in the light of a colder clim- 
ate than exists in the region of Indiana. Prof. Veal 
is deserving of much credit for the complete handling 
of the subject. 

Yours truly, 

J. L. Mowry, Prof. Agr. Eng. 
University of Minnesota." 

''Terre Haute, Ind., Oct. 6, 1916. 
Mr. G. H. Hendren, State Examiner, 
State Board of Accounts of Indiana, 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 
t)ear Sir: — 

I have read carefully the report submit- 
ted to you by Prof. C. B. Veal upon school house 
heating and ventilating regulations in Indiana, and I 
agree in all substantial particulars with the views ex- 
pressed in that report. 

« • * 

I am also in hearty accord with the opinion ex* 

31 



pressed by Prof. Veal to the effect that the kind of 
heating system used should correspond with the type 
and size of school building to which it is applied. 
The suggestions contained in the report along this 
line seem to me to be well worth the careful consid- 
eration of those intrusted with the authority of se- 
lecting heating apparatus for schools. 

Yours, very truly, 
Frank C. Wagner, Prof, of Me- 
chanical and Electrical Engi- 
neering, Rose Polytechnic 
Institute.'' 

* 'UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY 

Lexington, October 26, 1916. 

Mr. G. H. Hendren, State Examiner, 
State Board of Accounts, 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 

My dear Sir:— 

Acknowledging your telegram of even 
date, I confirm telegram as follows that I have just 
sent to you: 

'Report received. I regard the report 
of Prof. C. B. Veal as a masterly discussion 
of school house heating and ventilating prac- 
tice as particularly applicable to Indiana re- 
quirements. ' 

I want to congratulate you upon the way you 
have handled the question of school house heating 
and ventilating in Indiana. When you put a problem 
of this kind in the hands of scientific men you elimi- 
nate to a large degree the possibility of irrational 
conclusions that are almost certain to arise when the 
whole question of letting contracts is thrown open 
to contractors who are allowed to put in bids on any 
sort of apparatus, sometimes for the express purpose 
of confusing committees. 

Yours, very truly, 
F. Paul Anderson, 
Dean.'' 

In my judgment, Prof. Veal and Purdue University are 
to be congratulated for this valuable contribution that will 
inure to the public good. I believe the impartial conclusions 
reached will, in a great measure, solve the perplexing prob- 
lem of proper heating and ventilation of public buildings and 

32 



result in the elimination of dishonest practices in contracts of 
this class. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Gilbert H. Hendren, 

State Examiner. 
January 15, 1917. 



33 



Rules of the State Board of Accounts Con- 
cerning Public Building Contracts. 



It is the purpose of the State Board of Accounts to pre- 
pare rules and regulations relating to public contracts govern- 
ing public work that will conserve the public funds of the 
various municipalities of Indiana. Such rules are intended 
to prescribe the method of awarding contracts, the prepara- 
tion of plans and specifications for such work and the super- 
vision or superintendency of the work to the end that there 
shall be unrestricted competition and honest methods em- 
ployed in this work. 

These rules are made with the hope of assisting officers 
of the counties, townships, towns and cities of the state in 
getting greater competition in the letting of contracts for the 
erection of buildings, furnishing heating, ventilation, plumb- 
ing, electrical fixtures, supplies of all kinds, and in any 
undertaking where competitive bids are to be received and 
the expense is to be paid from the public funds, to the end 
that fair prices may be obtained in all cases. 

It is the duty of the State Board of Accounts to deter- 
mine whether the laws of the state are complied with in the 
letting and carrying out of each public contract, as well as to 
prescribe the methods of accounting, and to determine the 
accuracy of the accounts in connection therewith. 

Public officials before contracting for the construction of 
of any important public work to be let upon competitive bids 
should employ a competent architect to prepare plans and 
specifications for the same. The plans and specifications so 
prepared should be complete in every detail and so perfect in 
detail that the work will comply with the law in regard to 
same, and so that no material change need be made in the 



construction of said work from the original plans and speci- 
fications therefor. Any material change made in the con- 
struction of any public work after the bid therefor is ac- 
cepted and the contract entered into, tends to destroy com- 
petitive bidding and is a violation of the spirit of the law. 

Where heating and ventilating systems are to be in- 
stalled in old pubhc buildings, professional heating and ven- 
tilating engineers should be employed to prepare plans 
and specifications, or if an architect is employed to do such 
work, he should also be properly qualified as a heating and 
ventilating engineer. In no event should anyone be employed 
who is in any way connected with any dealer or manufacturer 
who may be furnishing the material for such particular heat- 
ing and ventilating system^. The name of the engineer who 
lays out the heating and ventilating system should appear up- 
on the plans and specifications in connection with all heating 
and ventilating installations. 

It is not our purpose to encroach upon any officiars duty, 
but to help officials to comply with the law, to keep their ac- 
counts accurately and to assist them and the taxpayers of the 
different municipalities in obtaining value received for the 
money expended. 

In all cases where contracts are to be let by competitive 
bidding, it is unlawful to adopt plans and specifications for 
heating and ventilating systems, water systems, vacuum 
cleaning systems, closets, furnaces, fans, motors, and 
engines, or other manufactured articles, which require the 
furnishing of articles exclusively under the control of one 
person, firm or corporation. 

Board vs. Pashong, 41 Ind. App. 69. 
Managhan vs. City of Indianapolis, 37 Ind. App. 280. 
Seibert vs. City of Indianapolis, 40 Ind. App. 296. 
Zorn vs. Warren-Scharf Co. 42 Ind. App. 213. 

No contract can be let when the plans and specifications 
for materials or fixtures to be furnished are not specific, but 
leave a part of the details, which should be included in the 
plans and specifications, to be furnished by the bidders them- 
selves. No bidder shall be allowed to furnish his own plans 
and specifications, but all bidders must bid on the articles, 
systems, etc., adopted and included in the approved plans 
and specifications. The purchasing of furniture and supplies 



and the erection of public buildings are matters which con- 
cern, in a more or less degree, every taxpayer in the munici- 
pality. These matters are strictly public undertakings, and, 
as such, taxpayers are entitled to have the law strictly com- 
plied with before the burden is placed upon them. Our pur- 
pose of requiring plans and specifications is to provide a basis 
for competitive bidding on the proposed undertaking; 
without such a basis the bidders would be left to speculation 
and uncertainty in making bids, and the door of favoritism 
would be open in awarding contracts. 

The Standard Contract Documents as issued by the 
American Institute of Architects and approved by the re- 
spective National Association of Builders' Exchanges, Master 
Plumbers, Master Steam and Hot Water Fitters, Sheet Metal 
Contractors and Electrical Contractors of the United States 
are, in a general way, applicable to the erection of public 
buildings under the laws of Indiana. But they are prepared 
more especially for building enterprises by private capital, 
as this is by far the larger part of the work of the architects. 
A few changes are usually desirable to make these documents 
conform to the requirements of the Indiana law for the 
reason that an individual may do what a public official cannot 
do. They should never provide for changes and they should 
never provide that the architect's decision as to workmanship 
and material is final and without appeal. 

Architects and engineers are employed in an advisory 
capacity only and the public official, whose duty it is to 
contract for and have a building constructed or other work 
performed, cannot delegate the power vested in his office by 
law, to an architect or engineer. 

An individual may select a particular kind or make of 
material or fixtures to be used in a building which he may 
desire to erect regardless of the fact that such material or 
fixtures may be under the exclusive control of some one per- 
son, firm or corporation, while a public official must follow 
the rules laid down by law and prepare his plans and speci- 
fications so as to secure competitive bids at the letting of the 
contracts. 

A public official is acting for the taxpayers of the taxing 
district which he has been chosen to represent and he has no 
authority except what is vested in his office by law. 

3 



Brick is a manufactured article and must be specified so 
that there will be competition in order to comply with the 
law. The standard should be established by naming the 
brick manufactured by three or more manufacturers and pro- 
viding that any other make of brick, similar in design and 
equal in quality, may be specified by a bidder in his bid and 
used, if approved by the architect and officers having charge 
of the construction of the building. 

Manufactured articles, such as hot air furnaces, air 
washers, purifiers, fans, engines, motors, heat regulation, 
vacuum systems, closets, lavatories, drinking fountains, 
shower baths, urinals, vacuum cleaners, metal ceilings and 
lightning rods are somewhat difficult to specify without 
favoring some particular make. It seems that the best 
method of having open competition in this class of supplies 
is by establishing a standard, which may be done by naming 
at least three or more of such manufactured articles, by 
giving the name of the manufacturer and the catalogue num- 
ber, providing that other articles similar in design and equal 
in quality may be specified by a bidder in his bid and used, 
if approved, by the architect or engineer and oflficers having 
charge of the construction of the work. 

Such raw material as sheet metal may be described in 
the specifications by giving the quality and gauge of the 
articles to be used. Pipes for heating plants may be de- 
scribed by giving the size and quality expected to be used. 
Steam boilers, direct-indirect and direct radiators, valves,' 
wall boxes, box bases, air diffusers, humidifiers and all other 
articles should be specified in the specifications by naming at 
least three or more such articles, if possible, giving the name 
of the manufacturer and the catalogue number which will 
give the type and capacity of such articles desired, providing 
that other articles similar in design and equal in quality may 
be specified by a bidder in his bid and used, if approved by 
the architect and officers having charge of the construction 
of such work. The size and location of all fresh air wall 
boxes, foul air flues, steam pipes, steam boilers, direct-in- 
direct and direct radiators, hot air furnaces, warm and cold 
air ducts, engines, fans, motors, water closets, urinals, 
lavatories, drinking fountains, shower baths, vacuum clean- 
ers, and metal ceilings should be shown on the plans and de- 



scribed in the specifications. 

Specifications for any school building should be so 
worded as to make plain to the bidders that the successful 
bidder will be required to guarantee in his written contract 
that any material, supplies or sanitary apparatus or system, 
which are furnished, constructed, remodeled or installed in 
and for a school building shall be practically noiseless, free 
from friction and will, in all respects, comply v/ith the pro- 
visions of the Sanitary School House Law of Indiana. If 
bidders do not wish to make this guarantee in the contract, 
they should refrain from bidding on the work to be let. 

Bids for all work should be made on blank forms ap- 
proved by the State Board of Accounts, Amended Form 
No. 10. 

After advertisement has been made as required by law^ 
and bids received for the contemplated work, county com- 
missioners, the trustee and advisory board or the board of 
school trustees should take plenty of time to investigate and 
determine who is the lowest and best bidder. Many things 
must be considered in determining this, among them beings 
the ability and responsibility of the bidder as to workman- 
ship and his conduct in the construction of buildings in the 
past. 

Plans and specifications for any public undertaking 
which are approved, adopted and paid for by a municipal 
corporation are public records and the architect shall furnish 
one complete set thereof to the proper oflficial and one to the 
State Board of Accounts, which shall be kept on file in each 
of these respective offices. These plans and specifications 
shall not be used for any other building or buildings. Said 
complete set of plans and specifications should be submitted 
to the State Board of Accounts for examination and ap- 
proval at least five days before advertising for bids, and 
such approved plans and specifications may then be in- 
spected by any prospective bidder. 

One of the main objects to be accomplished from our 
point of view is to have the specifications so worded that 
manufaturers of several different materials or manufactured 
articles will figure with the bidders on furnishing their par- 
ticular make of material or supplies and being placed in com- 
petition with other manufacturers of similar articles, will, of 
necessity, make their lowest price, thus giving the munici- 



pality the advantage in any reduction in price caused by such 
competition. 

Quality and quantity shall be scrutinized as in the pur- 
chase of supplies and material bought for public use. Plans 
and specifications shall, in fact, be a part of the contract for 
public work and public buildings and shall be strictly construed 
in favor of the public treasury. ''Extras'' shall be kept at 
* 'low tide," as they are without competition and nearly al- 
ways expensive. 

The time for completion of the contract should be ex- 
pressly stated in the specifications. The limit of time in all 
specifications should be conservative and provide for the al- 
lowance of additional time on account of delays, over which 
the contractor has no control. Said specifications should 
provide that a sum shall be paid to the contractor during the 
progress of the work not exceeding eighty-five per cent. 
(85%) of the labor actually performed and material used in 
said work, upon the written estimate of the architect, and 
the residue of the contract price shall be paid at the expira- 
tion of thirty (30) days after the completion and final accept- 
ance of the work, in order to protect laborers, sub-contract- 
ors and material men, as provided in the Acts of 1911, page 
437. The architect or engineer should be required to furnish 
the official who has charge of the construction of the building, 
complete copies of the plans and specifications without extra 
cost, and supply prospective bidders with copies of the plans 
and specifications, upon the deposit of a reasonable amount for 
the return of the same before the hour set for receiving bids 
for such work, and upon failure so to do, such deposit will 
be forfeited. 

We believe that every honest contractor should know 
and feel that the opportunity to all bidders will be free and 
unrestricted and that there will be no attempt in any way to 
prevent legitimate competitive bidding. 

It would be impractical to formulate rules that would 
show how this purpose could be accomplished in every in- 
stance, as so many different things come up in the making of 
plans ^nd specifications that the rules would be too long and 
cumbersome. But, with this end in view, architects and en- 
gineers, in making their plans and specifications, can so treat 
each individual case as to reduce possible favoritism to the 
minimum, thereby complying with the law. 

6 



Public officials should thoroughly understand that they 
cannot arbitrarily select the particular make of articles they 
desire to purchase for their constituents, but must, in order 
to comply with the law, provide for the selection of these ar- 
ticles by competitive bidding. 

Architects or others cannot become bidders or sub-con- 
trators on work where they have furnished plans and speci- 
fications, or where they are directly or indirectly interest- 
ed in the contract. 

In the construction of pubhc buildings, it should be so 
arranged, if possible, that the contractor could do the con- 
struction work during the proper season and not leave par- 
tially constructed buildings standing during the winter. 

The architect or engineer should ascertain the financial 
abihty of the township or school corporation, or other mun- 
icipal corporation, and prepare plans and specifications for 
work, an estimate of which is within the two per cent, limit 
of indebtedness allowed by the state constitution. 

In determining the maximum amount of indebtedness 
that can be created by a civil or school corporation you should 
take two per centum of the total value of the taxable proper- 
ty within such corporation, to be ascertained by the last as- 
sessment for state and county taxes previous to the incurring 
of such indebtedness and not deducing mortgage exemptions, 
and add thereto such an amount to be derived from existing 
levies that can be applied to the payment of the indebted- 
ness of the corporation. In other words, to the two per 
centum of the taxable property you can add so much from 
the existing levies made at the time of the creation of the in- 
debtedness as will not be required to meet the current ex- 
penses of the corporation and which can be applied to the 
proposed indebtedness. In all events there must be an ap- 
propriation available for the construction of the proposed 
building. 

We respectfully call your attention to sections 3867, 3868 
and 3869, Bums's R. S., 1914, which relates to combinations 
in restraint of trade. 

Section 3868, Burns's R. S., 1914, reads as follows: 

'*Any and all schemes, designs, understandings, 
plans, arrangements, contracts, agreements or combina- 
tions to Hmit, restrain, retard, impede or restrict bidding 



for the letting of any contract for private or public work, 
directly or indirectly, or to in any manner combine or 
conspire to stifle or restrict free competition for the let- 
ting of any contract for private or public work, are here- 
by declared illegal, and any person who shall directly or 
indirectly engage in any scheme, design, understanding, 
plan, arrangement, contract, agreement or combination 
to limit, restrain, retard, impede or restrict bidding 
for the letting of any contract for private or public work, 
or in any manner combine or conspire to stifle or restrict 
free competition for the letting of any contract for pri- 
vate or public work shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 
demeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum 
not exceeding five thousand dollars, to which may be 
added imprisonment in the county jail or workhouse for 
a term of not more than one year, in the discretion of 
the court or jury trying the cause.'' 

Under section 3869, Burns's R. S., 1914, it is provided that 
if there shall be any collusion or fraud of any kind or charac- 
ter among the bidders at the letting of any contract, that 
such contractor shall not be entitled to payment for any work 
done thereon if he were a party, either directly or indirectly, 
to the fraud. This department will use its best efforts to 
prevent any payment to a contractor for work or services 
performed by him if it should be able to establish that such 
contractor was a party to such fraud. 

You will note by the foregoing that the sole object of 
the State Board of Accounts is, through its supervision of 
public offices, to secure an administration of public affairs 
that will at all times be in the interests of the taxpayers. We 
believe the laws are ample to protect the public and, as ap- 
plied to contracts for public work, will give every honest per- 
son a square deal. We invite the co-operation of honest and 
capable architects, contractors, manufacturers of supplies 
and in fact all citizens in our endeavor to secure these 
results. 

These rules were submitted to and approved by the 
Attorney General, February 16, 1916. 



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LIBRARY OF CONUHt&a ^ ;; 




020 975 953 61 







